Mark Lee, Christopher Lee and Hsu Hsiao-shun are not worried about having a mid-life crisis, because it’s all about facing it with a positive mindset.
Speaking to local media yesterday (April 14) while promoting their new Taiwanese comedy film Uncle Odyssey, they shared their perspective on ageing.
Mark, 57, shared: “Everyone will have a mid-life crisis — it’s all about how you face it. If you are affected by this term, then you wouldn’t have the enthusiasm to do anything.”
The local actor-host said finding a new direction, such as in his career, provided him with the motivation to complete his goal, which helped in defeating such worries.
“Don’t worry about your mid-life crisis, we can still do it. They are just changes we face physically and mentally, but if we face it with a positive mindset, it won’t be a major concern. Don’t be afraid of it,” he added.
Uncle Odyssey tells the story of three longtime friends Yong Zhu (Christopher), Xiang Lin (Hsiao-shun) and Chu Sheng (Mark) who are facing their own mid-life crisis. After falling out with their family, they become influencers to prove themselves relevant to the younger generation and unexpectedly achieve fame.
As they navigate their newfound fame through singing, dancing and completing challenges to realise their fans’ dreams, Chu Sheng’s terminal illness is revealed. Yong Zhu and Xiang Lin race against time to help him fulfil his last wishes, while gaining a new understanding about love between family and friends.
Taiwanese actor-host Hsiao-shun said in the interview that there was a period of time when he felt a drop in his self-confidence because of his age.
“I would ask myself, ‘Am I being excluded [in showbiz] already? Am I still popular in this show?… If I do this action now, does it look disgusting?’,” the 63-year-old recounted.
However, he later realised that his viewers are also around the same age as him and probably going through the same concerns in their own life as well.
Hsiao-shun added: “We are all going through it together, so I think we should have more self-confidence. It’s also important to have the companionship of people we love, so that we can go through it together.”
Christopher, who loves sports, shared that the most obvious change he saw in himself was his decrease in physical stamina.
The 54-year-old local actor said: “I would work out with the same strength, but I realised I would hurt all over my body the next day. At first, I didn’t think it was related to age so I continued to exercise, but as I continued to ignore it, I grew more miserable.
“I eventually accepted it, looking at things from a different perspective and choosing to do things in a different way.”
As for some perks of being an “uncle”, Mark laughed as he responded: “Can take CPF.”
But on a more serious note, he believed that it is at this age when more people start to pay more attention to their health: “You can still take care of your health when you are middle-aged, but not when you are a senior.
“When we are younger, we would usually stay up late to play or travel, but when we are in our 30s and 40s, we would start working out, such as strolling and jogging in parks… This would perhaps help in avoiding ailments at a later age.”
Hsiao-shun shared that being an uncle also means he can get seats on public transport.
Expressing love and communicating effectively to prevent regrets in life
Having gone through different life experiences, the three men also reflected on how they prevent regrets in life.
Christopher shared that he felt more at ease with life as he aged and in doing so, he also became more even-tempered and meticulous in his thinking.
He added that he prefers to look ahead, rather than back: “I think it’s better to look forward and not have regrets. If there is anything I want to do now, I will do it. If there is anything that is not done yet, I will think about how to complete it.
“Even if I didn’t complete it in the end, I think it’s alright.”
Mark believed that effective communication with his loved ones is important, as well as helping his three children — Calista, Maksonn and Calynn — complete their studies and realise their dreams while he is still physically and financially able to do so.
“It might not be anything, but at least when I complete it, I wouldn’t have regrets in my life,” he said.
Hsiao-shun recounted how his late father was a reserved person and had never expressed his love outwardly to his family before.
“I don’t think my father ever told my mother about his affections for her. When my mother died, my siblings and I saw him cry at her bedside for a long time and that was when we realised how love was expressed during that time,” he recalled.
“I think since we are still able to express our thoughts and how we would miss those we love, we should do it now.”
Parenting with discussions and reasoning
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In Uncle Odyssey, Yong Zhu and Chu Sheng have tense relationships with their children. The three actors were asked how they get along with their own children, especially when they have disagreements.
Christopher shared that he isn’t someone who would usually scold his son Zed and prefers to reason with him.
He told AsiaOne in an interview in 2024 that as long as he and his actress wife Fann Wong use love to care for and educate him, they believe Zed will value their love and concern for him.
Hsu, who has a son and daughter from two marriages, said he and his children are like “life co-partners”, who prefer to discuss any problems they have as a family together.
Mark revealed he is the one who is usually scolded instead, especially by his youngest daughter Calynn, who’s 12 this year: “I know she loves me, just that she expresses her love differently.
“Sometimes I feel like she’s my mother. She would get annoyed at me, but sometimes she would also care about me, such as placing something that I like to eat close by.”
He added that he would only scold his three children when he knows they are lying: “If I don’t scold them, it might become a habit, and they may eventually feel that they can use lies to solve problems.
“After scolding them, I would sit them down and explain why I don’t like them to lie.”
Dancing and singing for Uncle Odyssey
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In the film, Yong Zhu, Xiang Lin and Chu Sheng call themselves No Good Ojisan and shoot to fame singing and dancing to their upbeat song Pari Pari I Love You.
Sharing about their experience, Hsiao-shun and Mark said they are okay with singing and dancing while Christopher admitted he didn’t really enjoy it.
Mark laughed: “After every dance sequence, the three of us would be breathless. When the staff members were changing the camera angles, we would huddle and pant for air.”
Uncle Odyssey opens in Singapore cinemas on April 16.
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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com
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